TOKYO: The European Union is seeking security and defence industry partnerships with Japan and South Korea aimed at joint development of military equipment, the Nikkei reported on Sunday, citing a senior EU commission official.
These would mark the EU’s first such security and defence-related collaboration with Asian nations, the Japanese business newspaper said in a report from Brussels that did not identify the official.
The bloc hopes to reach a ministerial-level agreement with Japan by year end, which could help the EU fund joint projects managed by Japanese and European companies, the Nikkei said.
Representatives of Japan’s foreign ministry and the South Korean and EU delegations in Tokyo were not immediately available for comment on the report on Sunday.
Japan, despite a constitution that renounces war, says it faces “the most severe and complex security environment since World War Two”. In recent years it has boosted its defence industry in its largest postwar military expansion, expressing concern about threats from Asia neighbours China and North Korea. –Agencies
